Sword Coast 5e

Tad Bit Nipplely

From sandy seas to the frigid north! Finally, the group entered the Fishmen’s temple to find unusual traps and a portal that eventually lead to a yetti, giant frosty area!

Our Adventurers were taken prisoners by a giant tribe. While they first though they were destined to be dinner, they soon find a draconic plot to steal the King’s wife. Could the treachery be only the love between a youthful dragon and a giant maiden?

Come Sail Away

You need to be a sailor to sail? Who said that?

In this episode, our adventurers sailed away with the Green Dragon’s vessel! Having lost the furious army in a magical cloud of deception, they thought it would be a fine idea to take the ship for a spin. Unfortunately, they ended up crashing on Hydra Isle.

Fishmen with full intent to sacrifice the party to their Hydra god were shocked to find out that they picked on the wrong group of people. It was about time some one put a stop to their evil ways!

Without a proper sacrifice, however, the Hydra came on shore to take it’s vengeance. Newcomers to the island were somehow sacrificed after a shipwreck but that did not stop the god to raging with all it’s seven dragon-like heads!

All of our beloved adventurers fought bravely and destroyed the terrifying monster. (All except for the young cleric that ran away in a panic. He was later found face down on the beach waterlogged.)

Arg! Pirates!

Green Dragon Pirates you say? Argh. I do Maties. High flying flags snap in the wind over a crumpled tower. Normal citizens would run in fear but not our group of Adventurers! They just had to investigate! Here, they found a wood elf ranger that proved his worth in the deluge of pirate fury!

As one might suspect, the Green Dragon Pirates were in search of a famed green dragon egg that the Fishmen were rumored to have in their possession. Did they succeed in obtaining this egg and bringing chaos to the world for their benefit? Of course not!

An epic battle ensued where certain death was possible with every spear throw and spell from the vile amphibians. King Olie handed over the precious egg and it soon cracked bonding with one of the meddlers that some affectionately call “Chicken Feet.”

Death Underground

After searching for the small girl, all that was uncovered was her blue ribbon. Sights and sounds of an enormous snake were noticed but the group through luck or skill, avoided the monstrous beast! If that were all that was underground, it would have been an easy evening but when has anything been easy for our adventurers?

Two of the beloved members were arrested for violating the town’s strict laws of keeping the peace with the vile Lizardmen. After a short scuffle, they were placed in a small cell as they were unable to pay their every increasing fines. They weren’t the only ones arrested. Some of the farmers were arrested also.

A change has come over the town. The once placid goblins are now showing signs that they themselves are now in charge. But that is not all! The Duke certainly is showing signs of corruption with other discoveries that lurk below. Prisoners were walled up in their cells never to see the light of day. Some became ghouls shuffled below with an ever growing thirst for warm flesh.

As our heroes descended into the murky stench below, one ghost by the name of Malareties handed Fin his wife’s ring in order for exchange of information to help the living find their companions that were trapped inside the Duke’s prison. Fin promised to return the ring to Alerice’s finger once he finds her grave.

The group came upon a wall that divided their companions. With some effort, the divider was crushed, guards were fended off and our adventurers left the city unable to return.

Apparently, the Party has violated the ancient Oath of Lizard Marsh. The penalty is 100gp. Tarkus was tossed into the Duke’s prison. Neverick and Sakhir soon followed after encountering a strange priest within the Duke’s hall.

The rest of the party is searching for a missing girl in the waters beneath the town.

Hot Time at the Lizard Lounge

The third installment of this epic saga opened with the our heroes crouched behind some shrubs at the edge of the clearing, and observing Ruined Manor, the dread lair of lizard folk, from a safe distance.

Leaving their fellows behind, Kruhd & Neverick set off to reconnoiter the manor house. Upon closer inspection its sorry state was quite evident. Much of the structure was over-grown with vines, and there were several gaping holes where portions of its outer walls had collapsed. They also spied an encampment of half-a-dozen or so conical tents located at the far end of the front of the building. The pole of the largest of these flew a mysterious pendant bearing a green dragon. Several humans were observed moving about the site, including a woman barking orders. Obviously she was their leader. All were dressed in the traditional attire of seafaring pirates—colorful headscarves, loose fitting shirts, gold earrings and curved cutlasses. All save one, that is. This lone sorry sot was a prisoner of some sort. Stripped to the waist and bound, he appeared bruised and bloodied, likely from ill treatment received at his captors’ hands.

The stalwart duo then crept closer, passing undetected into the building through a breach in the wall that appeared to have once been a widow. There they surprised a none-too-attentive lizard-man guard. Although armed with a sturdy stone-studded club, the fiend was slow to react. Luck alone saved the great gecko from a vicious swipe of Kruhd’s smitey great-axe, but there was no such reprieve from Neverick. With a swiftly plucked lute string and soothing lyric, the bard lulled the savage beast into a magical sleep, …one from which the burly barbarian quickly made sure it would never, ever, awaken.

There was a door in this small room, leading deeper into the manor. It was open too, but dark beyond. Not wishing to press their luck, the two heroes carefully and quietly back-tracked to the wood-line, there to rejoin their companions and share news of what they’d seen.

It was soon decided that a further bit of snooping was in order. This time, however, Neverick ventured forth alone. Surveying the rest of the building, the sly songster located first a watch station and later a collapsed corner tower. Both locations, it appeared, would allow easy entry through the rear of the structure.

With this new knowledge in hand, a plan was quickly formulated: the party would stealthily make their way to the watch window, surprise & overpower the lizard lookout, then enter the rear of the manor to search for and (hopefully) rescue the missing captives.

It seemed simple enough.

Making their way undetected to the lookout post was no problem for the party, but the surly saurian sentry there stationed proved more powerful than expected. Neverick’s charms were ineffective. Led by bold Riswynn the party charged forward. Out-manned 6-to-1 the beast was hard pressed, but put up a stiff fight before breaking off and retreating down a back stair, presumably to fetch reinforcements.

With that our heroes reversed course, exiting as they’d entered, then quickly re-entering through the collapsed tower at the far end of the building. Here they found ready access to a few vacant rooms before eventually coming upon a large central courtyard. Strange voices—hissing lizard and hushed human—as well as an occasional low croaking could be heard from somewhere beyond. Neverick again crept warily ahead. He soon spied several humans, including the woman previously seen at the tents, and watched from the shadows as they crossed the courtyard to delivered their captive into the clutches of foul lizard-folk. They then left through an arched stone hallway, heading back in the direction of their encampment.

Confident most their foes were at the far end of the manor and fearful the savage beasts might be planning to have their recent delivery for lunch, our heroes readied their weapons and started across the open space. But no sooner had they taken a few tentative steps, than they were confronted by several club wielding reptilians.

A chaotic melee ensued.

Kruhd, in a frenzy, boldly held the line whilst the rest of the party fell back to regroup. At Sakhir’s urging his goblin familiar Turnip rushed to join the barbarian. Soon brave Riswynn was by their side too. Now three wide, they confronted their scaly green foes in force. From somewhere behind them Sakhir loosed a bolt of eldritch energy that passed cleanly through the melee to dissipate harmlessly against the far wall. But this was soon followed by another, then yet another. These blasts, thankfully, found their marks with devastating effect!

Meanwhile the half-elfin skald spun sing-song slanders (♫Your mother was a newt, your father was an alley-crock!♫), distracting foes and inspiring friends. And young Fin wove his way through the fray, lending both help & healing. Indeed, he strengthened the bloodied dwarfess more than once as she pressed on with her attack.

Even the goblins Turnip & Urnog fought bravely, both suffering grievous wounds before retreating to relative safety near Sakhir.

Suddenly several bulging eyed frog-men emerged from a door on the far wall, rushing to support their faltering allies. Undeterred our heroes pushed forward, led by Riswynn’s reaving & Kruhd’s cleaving. Beyond the commotion, through the now ajar portal, could be seen glimpses of a near-naked young man fighting yet another amphibious fiend. Was he wielding a table leg? Perhaps. Moments later came a loud, dull thud, followed by a wheezing death croak. Then the copper skinned stranger burst ut of that chamber, charging headlong into the courtyard to take Kruhd’s foe from behind with a spear! ♫You smell of roses, you stinking, slinking skinks!♫, sang the silver tongued scop as this last of the lizards fell.

All that remained then were a few tepid toads. Though every bit as feisty as their brethren in the marsh, these slimy slaads were not long for the world. Soon our heroes stood alone in a now blood-drenched corpse-yard littered with broken & bled-out foes.

The copper skinned stranger, now clearly a lithe wood elf, introduced himself as Ell, a ranger from the Misty Forest. With that he led the way to the holding cell from whence he had appeared, there to release his fellow captives.

A quick survey of their surroundings revealed several things: the manor seemed now to be cleared of both lizard & frog men; the freed captives included Jeggred’s wife & children as well as few of the dead farmer’s hands and several other formerly missing locals; a bit of lizard loot had been recovered too, including what proved to be an enchanted short sword; and finally, the pirates had broken camp and apparently set-off for the coast.

This last bit of news was disappointing to Ell, especially when he learned the party intended to escort the freed captives at least as far as the safety of Tarkus’ farm. He had wanted to extract a little payback on those brigands who had captured him and brought him to this hellhole. But as a ranger, he was not unfamiliar with putting the needs of other less hardy folk ahead of his own desires.

And so the party and their charges set off in the direction of the farmstead, the keen eyed elfin ranger at their head. With Ell leading the way through the marsh, they arrived safely at their destination in just a few hours. There they were welcomed by a much relieved Tarkus, who happily exchanged the well earned reward for the freed captives and offered our heroes a hot meal, strong beer and safe lodging for the night.

Marsh Marauders

This episode began with our heroes surrounding the lone surviving goblin from the first session’s final encounter. An impromptu interrogation ensued, during which the quivering captive, in a manner typical of his species, was quickly reduced to whining & crying. Shortly thereafter he revealed himself one Urnog, minion of the Laffing tribe, those conniving denizens of the Sword Mountains. At this point, and despite the protestations of the dwarfess Riswynn and pleas of Sakhir’s own goblinoid familiar Turnip, both of whom would have preferred to see the wastrel dead, a decision was made to spare his life …at least for the time being… in return for his pledge to guide the party through Lizard Marsh. There was, after all, much work still to be done—a lizard lair to be located, possibly hostages to be rescued, almost certainly treasure to be recovered and hopefully some additional reward to be collected. So surely, logic dictated, any aid this imp might provide should be exploited to its fullest.

The aforementioned marsh proved a stinking, sickly morass of stagnant pools and rotting clumps of unhealthful vegetation. Crisscrossed with a confusing maze of footpaths and frequently cloaked in a thick, fetid fog, the going was slow. To make matters worse, the place was brimming with all manner of fell creatures.

During the first night in this wretched bog, long mist-shrouded tentacles of some muck dwelling leviathan crept unnoticed from the turbid waters. Entwining around Fin, the mysterious creature attempted to drag the sleeping cleric to an almost certain death. By the grace of Sune the lad awoke in a fright, his shriek alerting the others to his peril. Leaping to action his brave compatriots managed to quickly free him and drive the monstrosity back from whence it came. The next evening brought a similar attack, this time targeting the mighty Kruhd. But after that first closest of calls, our heroes were more prepared and the swamp fiend paid dearly for its impertinence. Slain by the combined might of the party, its lifeless appendages sank slowly into the muck.

A few hours into the following day the stout band made the acquaintance of some dozen or so frog-men. These amphibious humanoids attempted to warn the party off in the name of one King Ollie. In response, first Sakhir and later Kruhd sought to parlay, extolling noble purpose of their mission and even going so far as to proffer Urnog as a tasty morsel & token of good faith! But it seems frog ears are deaf to such appeals. The mottled green devils’ only reply was a spear hurled in the direction of the brawny barbarian. Kruhd, as is his wont, returned that kindness with a swift swipe of his smitey axe; his fellows following suite with spells or swords or other such weapons as befit their stations.

And so the battle commenced.

What followed was a scene of sheer chaos—magic flashing, swords clashing and in every direction blood splashing. In short, utter carnage. Kruhd’s big blade swung in long, loping arcs cleaving first the frog-fiends’ captain and then a number of its henchmen in twain whilst he himself endured several near fatal blows. Riswynn’s own bloodied axe gleamed crimson in the sun, sending more than a few pollywogs to their doom. Fin too strode boldly through the fray, dispensing death with his fighting hand and healing grace with the other. And all the while Neverick, the elf-tinged minstrel, crooned lilting lays of inspiration & insult to both steady his companions and confuse their adversaries. Indeed even the goblins, Turnip & Ungor, fought well that afternoon! The rout finally concluded when Sakhir fell their last standing foe in dramatic fashion, a well-placed bolt of eldritch energy dispatching that slimy slaad to join his fallen fellows in whatever nether plane frog-fiends haunt after life.

As the battle-lust finally subsided, our heroes, save one, stood victorious. Sadly steadfast Damakos of Silverymoon, the hell-spawn sage, was numbered among those corpses that littered the field. But there was little time for mourning. Neverick was quick to point out two toads he’d lulled with some sweet sorcerous song. These unfortunates were soon bound hand & foot, and then revived by Sakhir…with a sharp stick through their eyes! In exchange for the promise of a soothing remedy, the pair quickly fessed some useful information: their own lair, the very seat of King Ollie, was located a few miles to the northwest amidst the ruins of an ancient temple; and the haunt of the lizard-folk, a dilapidated man-crafted structure known simply as the Ruined Manor, lay an equal distance due south. Satisfied the prisoners had fulfilled their end of the bargain, Kruhd mercifully administered the promised relief. His remedy? A pair of swift axe blows through their soft skulls.

Their first order of business being the disposition of the lizard-folk, the party headed south. A mere two hours into that trek they were ambushed from the trail-side by a gigantic caterpillar like creature. This abomination, which Sakhir instantly recognized to be a carrion crawler, was fronted by a maw full of gnashing teeth encircled with writhing, suckered appendages and driven by a relentless hunger for flesh. The beast was ripe with in the stench of death & decay. It proved, however, no match for our hearty heroes. Upon dispatching it, they quickly discovered its nearby nest. There, interspersed among the countless gnawed bones which littered that bit of high ground, lay a petty treasure of copper, silver & gold coins, as well as a handsome dagger and vial of blue-hued liquid. These last two items, it was hoped, might prove useful.

Following a brief respite they set out once more and soon arrived at the edge of a clearing. From their vantage behind some long grass, a large manor house in obvious disrepair was clearly visible in the middle of the vast field. At the same time and much to everyone’s surprise, a mysterious stranger emerged from behind some nearby shrubs and presented himself before the party…

The mysterious Sakhir, strange in both appearance & eating habits; friendly Fin, a slight, polite young man & devotee of Sune; Kruhd, a barbarous brute, the last of his clan; Neverick, a minstrel fair with an air of both man & elf; Damakos the Librarian, to whom it seems there is more than meets the eye; and Riswynn, she-dwarf of Citadel Adbar.

One gloomy summer’s eve these six disparate travelers had a chance encounter at The Hoary Halfling, an inn of some repute in rural Daggersford. That night their lives were changed forever.

Here too they made the acquaintance of one Art-Bart Mahee, an entrepreneurial minded monger shilling his most recent endeavor—an employment service featuring goblins for hire! Intrigued, strange Sakhir soon parted with a few pence in return for an impish minion of his very own. That rat-faced rascal, bearing the nom de choreTurnip, became the seventh member of the company.

But more importantly, the Halfling’s grizzled innkeeper shared some potentially valuable information. Rumor had it the Daggersford Farmers’ Association, frustrated by the inaction of Duke Vrinn with regard to a series of recent murders & disappearances among the peasantry, was in the market for sell-swords.

The following day our would be heroes sought out Tarkus, head of the DFA. Master Tarkus soon enlisted the stout company to investigate the aforementioned crimes, and further bring the perpetrators to swift justice at the end of a blade!

In short order our heroes set out for the still smoldering farmstead of one recently murdered Jeggred. Arriving they found a scene of carnage which bore all the hallmarks of vile lizard-folk. As luck would have it, the not too distant Lizard Marsh was reputed to be teeming with these cold-blood fiends.